You may have heard on the news or on the internet about nursing home neglect and what it is. At Cordisco & Saile, our mission is to keep the Philadelphia Laborers Local 57 members informed about important legal matters like this and offer them the defense that they and their loved ones deserve. Cordisco & Saile is the longtime approved partner for legal matters by Local 57’s leadership and we fight for your rights.
Just about everyone, including members of the Philadelphia Laborers Local 57 union, may have a mother, father, uncles, aunts, or grandparents. There comes a time when your elderly relatives need to be placed in a nursing home for the best care.
We’d all love to stay at home and care for our elderly but occupational demands cannot just allow us to do that. The best option is to relegate the care to professionals at nursing homes who are expected to provide a higher level of care to our elderly parents or grandparents.
As a laborer who toils every day to not only provide for your family but also ensure that your elderly parents, grandparents, are properly taken care of in a nursing home, the last thing you want is to have your loved ones neglected or treated badly at the nursing facility.
Realizing that your parent or grandparent has been neglected or mistreated by the people you entrusted your loved ones with can be a painful experience, to say the least. You shouldn’t let the injustice go unpunished which is why you have to fight back against nursing home neglect by filing a lawsuit for financial compensation from the caregiver or the entire facility.
At Cordisco & Saile, we fight for justice for you and your loved ones!
What is Nursing Home Neglect and Mistreatment?
A big majority of nursing homes provide efficient care and attention to their residents but there have been cases of neglect and even outright mistreatment in a few elderly care facilities. Neglect and abuse occur at different levels from berating an elderly person verbally to emotional and physical abuse.
According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), mistreatment and abuse of elderly can be differentiated in several categories including physical abuse by inflicting pain and discomfort to the elderly, causing emotional or mental pain, neglect by failing to provide proper care and attention to the elderly person, and abandonment. There have even been cases of sexual harassment by nursing care employees.
When elderly people are neglected or left alone for a long time without being given proper attention, they will develop other health problems such as exposure to bad weather, malnutrition, bedsores, joint pains, stress, and poor overall health and well being. Their needs are not met which makes them believe that they have been abandoned by both their caregivers and relatives.
An elderly person who has been neglected or is being mistreated in a nursing home not only suffers from mental and emotional trauma but can also suffer physical injuries while trying to tend to his or her needs all by themselves.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that the most common physical injuries suffered by neglected residents of nursing homes include slips and falls. Statistics show that fall-related injuries account for close to 1,800 elderly people deaths in nursing homes each year in the United States alone. Elderly people who survive slips and falls end up with serious head injuries, hip dislocations, ankle sprains, broken bones, or even traumatic head and spinal injuries.
Other nursing home injuries caused by neglect include bedsores, ulcers, medication errors, especially when the elderly residents try to self-medicate, dehydration due to lack of drinking water and fluids, and general malnutrition caused by poor feeding habits. The neglected person can also suffer from serious skin scratches and bruises when he or she is not bathed regularly.
You surely wouldn’t want your parents, who took great care of you since childhood, or grandparent to feel neglected or abandoned in a nursing home. This is why you should take immediate action when you discover that your loved one is being neglected or mistreated in a nursing home.
Steps to Take if You Suspect Neglect in a Nursing Home
If you suspect your loved one is being neglected or mistreated at the nursing home you took them, you’ll need to take immediate action to not just stop the neglect but seek compensation for the pain and suffering your loved one has suffered.
However, proving that the neglect and mistreatment actually happened can be difficult given that most nursing homes have endless ways of covering their mistakes to save face and reputation. You’ll need documentation, witnesses, and expert opinions to pursue your claim. An experienced personal injury lawyer will significantly help you in every step of your claim.
Bucks County, Cordisco & Saile LLC attorneys will help you to take legal action against the people or institutions responsible for the pain and emotional or physical injuries your loved one has suffered in a nursing home.
We help members of the Philadelphia Laborers Local Union 57 in all matters that require legal assistance including nursing home neglect compensation claims.
Talk to us today to schedule a free consultation.
